Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of fiction that had men as the main protagonists. And while a good hero can be an awesome thing, I miss my heroines. Therefore I thought I’d do a list of my favourite heroines in books, movies and on TV.
Kick-Ass, in this case, does not necessarily mean actually physically kicking ass – it’s more a combination of knowing what you want and pursuing it, staying true to yourself and being active in your decisions.
And now I’m gonna start to read the new Psy-Changeling book, hopefully as full with strong women as the ones before it.
10. Ellen Ripley (Alien)
Ellen Ripley is probably the prototype of kick-ass heroines. She’s driven, she can defend herself, she knows what she’s doing and she does it.
9. Max Guevara (Dark Angel)
Max only slowly grows into her role as a leader and it’s wonderfully sketched in the series (until its abrupt, undeserving end). She’s strong, she knows what she wants and she has to deal with a lot of shit. And she manages. Not always perfectly, of course, but who does?
8. Deeba (Un Lun Dun)
[via deviantart]
Deeba gets thrown into events much bigger than they appear at first – and she doesn’t even have the reassurance to be the Shwazzy. But she feels responsible, so she does what’s necessary – with a lot of brains and wit.
7. Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer)
Brenda Leigh Johnson has to deal with a lot at the beginning of season one – especially heading a department full of men as the newcomer. And by knowing what she wants and pursuing exactly that without giving up herself, she conquers them all. It’s brilliant to watch.
6. Sabriel / Lirael (Old Kingdom Series)
[Sabriel via deviantart]
I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love these books. And no small part of this is because of the two protagonists. They take matters into their own hands and go after what they want.
5. Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)
Ahhh, Beatrix – a woman who can kick physical ass and decides what her life is supposed to look like and goes after that. Her means may be very bloody, but of her ends I can only approve.
4. Trisha (The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is one of my favourite King novels. Maybe especially because the supernatural plays only a little part and the focus is entirely on this girl. A normal girl, who gets dumped into extreme circumstances and rises to the occasion. She’s absolutely awesome. In the original sense of the word.
3. Thursday Next (Thursday Next Series)
Oh, Thursday Next, where’s the next part in your series??? Anyways, Thursday is great – she can manage absolutely everything. Her husband gets erased and never existed? HA! Miss Havisham wants to go shopping? No problem. Insane Serial Killer is after her? Puh-lease…
Wow, I really got to read those books again.
2. Buffy / Willow (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) / Cordelia (Angel)
Okay, I don’t think I have to explain either Buffy or Willow to anybody who has ever seen the show. But let me say a few words about Cordelia. In Buffy, she was more annoying – sometimes very cool, but mostly annoying. But in Angel… she was the best thing about this show (until they killed the last good thing and made Cordelia the mother of evil). She grew up, she did the best she could, she stood up for herself – and she still stayed Cordelia.
1. Donna Noble / Rose Tyler / Sarah Jane Smith / Martha Jones / Gwen Cooper (Doctor Who-niverse)
I honestly couldn’t decide which woman to root for in the Doctor Who-niverse. They are absolutely amazing, every single one of them.
Now I’m just waiting for the first female Doctor. [Come on, think of the possibilities!]
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Starbuck from BSG, Sarah Connor off the top of my head.
And totally agree with the leads from the Whoniverse.
Sarah Connor was a strong contender but only made it to Number 11.
And I didn’t watch BSG – I tried to, but I was so bored by the pilot that I didn’t continue.
[I know it’s probably blasphemic to say that.]
You’re forgiven. The first 3 seasons are probably the finest seasons of a scifi show ever made. Period. The last season descended into religious bullshit that I still wake up in the middle of the night crying.
Thanks! ;)
It’s always sad when shows you really love turn awry after a few seasons. But with some it hurts more than with others.
Yay ^^
I haven’t watched BSG yet (I’m saving it in case I need an Epic Marathon of Awesome in my life), but I also suspect that Starbuck would be a contender.
My other notable mentions would be Mary Russell and Captain Holly Short…maybe also Angua, Susan Sto Helit and (over her strong objections) Granny Weatherwax.
Mary Russel – didn’t read the books.
Holly Short – don’t even know where she’s from.
Angua – was considering her but then I thought that her part was too small, actually.
Susan Sto Helit – who’s she?
Granny Weatherwax – don’t know her yet.
Mary Russell – your bad ^^
Holly Short is in Artemis Fowl (apart from everything else, she’s the first female to work for her branch of the Lower Elements Police)
Susan Sto Helit is Death’s granddaughter…don’t worry, you’ll come across her eventually.
Do you know what’s sad? With this post and comments, we’ve covered most of the kick-ass heroines I can think of.
Oh my goodness – how could I forget that Holly Short was Holly Short?
Anyways, yeah, you’re right. It is really sad.
I’d add the women in the Psy-Changeling Series and Elena from Angels’ Blood. And Anita Blake in the first few books, before her strength had to be explained magically.
And then I’m running out of ideas…
Then there’s Zoe Washburne (Firefly), Aeryn Sun (Farscape), and Dana Scully…maybe Sam Carter (SG-1).
Beyond that? I got nothin’.
Maybe Elizabeth Benneth? But that’s more grasping for straws, I have to admit.
And maybe Meggie from the Inkheart Trilogy (but she’s more reactive than active, and when she’s active she often incites a facepalm). And maybe Emily from the “Uralte Metropole” trilogy (Lycidas, Lilith, Lumen).
I have high hopes for Roxie in Eastwick, but I’ll still need some episodes to actually decide.
Oh, and Matilda from Matilda!
Sorry to tell you, but Eastwick has been axed…so, there’s not much hope for Roxie.
Since I started to get into the show, I figured that it would get cancelled. lolsob
Oh, I thought of some more: Nausicaä and Mononoke and Chihiro.
I did my own list.
Scully is not on it because I couldn’t really say why she is cool (My 13 year old me would rip my head off for saying so)
Matilda is not on my list because I forgot about her.
Isn’t it strange that so many positive heroines are girls instead of women?
I know that adolescence from 12-24 is THE time for heroes, both male and female. Still, female heroes have a certain tendency to be girlish.
Your own list awes me – I’ll comment on it later.
Anyways, yes, it’s strange and no, it’s not strange at all. You only get younger girls because as soon as girls hit sexual maturity, their lives revolve around men. Everyone knows that.